NFT games console Polium One announced for 2024
Dexerto / PoliumPreview of the new console
A brand-new games console focussed on Web3 gaming has been announced, with Polium boasting that it’s a “multi-chain” device with a custom Nvidia CPU/GPU. The Polium One aims to launch in 2024.
Web3 business Polium has just announced its first-ever gaming console, boasting Web3 features such as running games hosted on multiple different blockchains, including Solana, Immutable X, Polygon, Wax, and more. Blockchains are a complex piece of tech that is often associated with Cryptocurrency and NFTs.
The Polium One console aims to solve the problem of playing games hosted on multiple chains by integrating it into one single console, the company announced on its website.
Polium aims to bring an integrated wallet and storefront experience to take the pain away from Web3’s increasingly more complex methods of ownership. They also note that good gaming PCs are expensive to buy and difficult to build for most users, making the case for creating the Polium One console. The console’s bespoke controller will also utilize Touch ID to sign in to the device.
Detailed in their whitepaper, Polium claims that the device will “not only solve a problem but also bring mass adoption to the Web3 space”, the whitepaper continues to go into the various apps, which include an NFT marketplace and Polium Wallet, which acts as a hub for “trading, staking, swapping and receiving tokens.”
Wondering how to get one? Right now, the only way that you can put your name on the list for the Polium console is to mint a “Polium Pass” which gives you access to a Polium One console, a free profile picture NFT, staking rewards for your NFT, and finally supposed launch events across the US, Japan, and the UK.
Polium states on its website that the Polium One will launch to Polium Pass holders in 2024. However, there are currently no detailed hardware specifications for the console itself.
The company currently states that the Polium Console will be able to push up to 8k HDR titles, with up to 120FPS performance in games, and also will feature ray tracing. Their whitepaper also states that the console will be making use of “a custom CPU/GPU provided by NVIDIA.” This could potentially be an off-the-shelf part, as an SoC that’s been specifically forged for the console while also being a relatively low-volume product with only 10,000 units to be produced to Polium Pass holders seems unrealistic.
Right now, there’s no indication from Nvidia that they are partnering with Nvidia themselves to bring forward a custom chip. Polium currently hopes to have “more information on specs later this year”.
A frosty reception
Right now, the Polium One console, by all rights only exists in the form of a few prototype renders, an NFT mechanic, and a whitepaper. The case for Web3 gaming is still to be tested, and with no breakout title, we doubt that the console will be of much use to many people until developers actually make something tangible and real, that a mass-market audience would actually want over a PS5, Xbox or PC.
In addition to this, Polium has addressed negative reception over Discord by stating “To clarify, it’s the four of us that are building the functional prototype of the console and controller.” Saying that there are only four people working on what is supposedly a console that can run games up to 8K HDR with support for 120fps games stinks, and the collaboration with Nvidia on a “custom chip” makes this proposition seem even more suspect.
The company claims that they will have a “functional prototype” of the console by November or before, with it being showcased “Live on YouTube or have a well-trusted influencer show you all.”
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The company also states that it will not take any pre-orders or funding until the prototype is ready. However, again it raises concerns as to what you will actually be able to play on the console, and whether Nvidia is indeed working with them on the console or not.
Right now, it looks like the Polium Console is just a concept, with nothing more tangible to back up these claims, so color us skeptical of the project, or backing it.
We have reached out to Nvidia for further comment regarding the Polium One’s “custom” CPU/GPU SoC.
